A 23-year-old man today became the first person to be charged in connection with the terror attacks on London.

Ismael Abdurahman, who was arrested in connection with the July 21 attempted bombings, was charged under Section 38 the Terrorism Act 2000.

Mr Abdurahman, of Newport Street, Kennington, south London, will appear before Bow Street Magistrates’ Court in central London tomorrow. He was first arrested on July 28 on suspicion of harbouring an offender, before being rearrested under the Terrorism Act the following day.

The charge alleges that "having information that he knew or believed might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of another person in the UK for an offence involving the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism" he failed to disclose that information "as soon as reasonably practicable to a constable".

Scotland Yard tonight also confirmed that one of the men arrested in Brighton at the weekend was released with no further action.

There are still 14 other people in custody in the UK in connection with the investigation into the July 21 attempted attacks, and one in Rome, Italy.

Hussain Osman, the alleged Shepherd’s Bush bomber being held in Italy, today claimed again the devices used were harmless and packed with flour. Mr Osman said that he and his accomplices had not sought to kill anyone, not even themselves. He claimed the "bombs" were only supposed to make a "bang" and were intended to sow terror. The claim, made to Italian interrogators inside Rome’s high security Regina Coeli jail, is refuted outright by British detectives who say the July 21 bombs were designed to maim and kill.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and his senior aides believe the July 21 devices, had they detonated properly, would have caused death and destruction on a level comparable to the July 7 attacks in which 52 innocent people and four suicide bombers died.

Mr Osman’s Italian lawyer, Antonietta Sonnessa, told how her client was "scared" of being extradited because he feared being beaten up in a British jail. She says Mr Osman told her: "I am afraid of going back to England, I am afraid of what might happen to me in prison. I am afraid of spending the rest of my life in a cell. I beg of you, do everything you can to keep me here [in Italy].

"I would never have killed anyone and I would never dream of carrying out a suicide attack. I love life, I’ve never thought about dying. The very idea terrifies me. It was a demonstrative action."

As detectives continue to question the rest of the suspected would-be suicide bombers at Paddington Green police station in London, a huge policing operation is set to be mounted on the capital’s transport network. August 4 is exactly two weeks on from the July 21 attempted attacks which were themselves mounted exactly two weeks after the July 7 bombings.

Although there is no specific intelligence of a third attack, London will be turned into a fortress with police leave cancelled and detectives drafted into uniform.

More than 6,000 officers, many of them armed, will be on duty in two shifts through the course of the day. British Transport Police will draft in officers from outside the capital as extra police swarm on to the Tube. Undercover officers will be posted on trains and buses, mingling with commuters and trying to spot suicide bombers.

Police will be armed with an arsenal of weapons, including MP5 submachineguns and Glock 17 pistols as they guard key targets. Marksmen will be equipped with AW50 heavy sniper rifles which have a range of more than a mile. Armed response vehicles (ARVs) will also be stationed around the capital ready to respond to terrorist attacks in an instant.

Scotland Yard’s 500-strong SO19 firearms unit, who man the ARVs, will play a key role. Its 100 elite specialist firearms officers (SFOs), who are trained by the SAS to fire 750-round a minute rifles and who wear balaclavas and Kevlar body armour, will also be involved. SAS soldiers will be on standby to assist if any violent confrontation with terrorists escalates.

All Tube stations will have some services for the first time, although the Circle Line is still suspended.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Milk: do we need a dairy godmother?
• DIY: the women doing it for themselves
• First double portrait of Princes unveiled